Evaluation of the PBS Ready To Learn Cell Phone Study: Learning Letters with Elmo Jordan E. Horowitz, Senior Project Director Lauren Davis Sosenko, Project Coordinator Jodie Lu Stout Hoffman, Project Coordinator Jaclyn Ziobrowski, Project Coordinator Armando Tafoya, Research Associate April Haagenson, Research Assistant Sara Hahn, Research Assistant August, 2006 4665 Lampson Avenue Los Alamitos, CA 90720 Evaluation of the PBS Ready To Learn Cell Phone Study: Learning Letters with Elmo Jordan E. Horowitz, Senior Project Director Lauren Davis Sosenko, Project Coordinator Jodie Lu Stout Hoffman, Project Coordinator Jaclyn Ziobrowski, Project Coordinator Armando Tafoya, Research Associate April Haagenson, Research Assistant Sara Hahn, Research Assistant September, 2006 This document was prepared by WestEd, under contract from PBS Ready To Learn. The opinions and recommendations expressed herein are the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the funding agency. For information concerning obtaining additional copies of this document, direct inquiries to: PBS Ready To Learn 1320 Braddock Place Alexandria, VA 22314 Acknowledgments The PBS Ready To Learn Cell Phone Study: Learning Letters With Elmo project partners (PBS, Sesame Workshop, WestEd, Sprint, and GoTV Networks) would like to thank Matt Markovich and B.J. Fogg of the Stanford University Persuasive Technology Laboratory for their advice on data-tracking early in the project. In addition, special thanks are due to Julie Ash of Sprint for solving the numerous complex logistical problems involved in providing participants with the study’s requisite phone service and hardware, and to Orange You Glad for design of the Learning Letters with Elmo pamphlet. We would like to voice our appreciation of a number of child care centers in the Oakland, Fresno, Los Angeles County, and Orange County areas that cooperated with us to raise parent awareness and generate interest in participating in the study. We especially recognize the Joyce M. Huggins Early Education Center at California State University, Fresno, which not only helped in our recruitment efforts but also allowed us to host training and group interview sessions at their site. i Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY................................................................................................................................................V INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................................................................1 THE STRUCTURE OF THE REPORT .....................................................................................................................................1 BACKGROUND..................................................................................................................................................................2 HISTORY OF READY TO LEARN...........................................................................................................................................2 OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY ................................................................................................................................................3 Prior PBS Ready To Learn Studies Conducted by WestEd........................................................................................3 Overview of the PBS Ready To Learn Cell Phone Study: Learning Letters with Elmo ...........................................4 METHOD .............................................................................................................................................................................6 INTERVENTION ..................................................................................................................................................................6 Treatment .....................................................................................................................................................................6 Training........................................................................................................................................................................8 RECRUITMENT .................................................................................................................................................................10 DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENTS AND METHODS........................................................................................................12 Tracking system .........................................................................................................................................................12 Participant Data ........................................................................................................................................................14 DOSAGE.............................................................................................................................................................................16 STUDY PROTOCOL...........................................................................................................................................................16 PARTICIPANT’S STREAMING PATTERNS .........................................................................................................................17 Noncompliance Issues ...............................................................................................................................................21 FINDINGS..........................................................................................................................................................................23 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................................................23 DEMOGRAPHIC DATA......................................................................................................................................................25 SURVEY FINDINGS...........................................................................................................................................................29 The Household Literacy Environment ......................................................................................................................29 Viewing Patterns and Related Issues........................................................................................................................38 Effects on Children ....................................................................................................................................................48 FINDINGS FROM THE GROUP INTERVIEWS......................................................................................................................52 CONCLUSIONS................................................................................................................................................................59 ii Figures and Tables OVERVIEW OF THE PBS READY TO LEARN CELL PHONE STUDY: LEARNING LETTERS WITH ELMO .................................5 SCHEDULE OF LETTER VIDEO CLIP AVAILABILITY...............................................................................................................16 MEAN NUMBER OF TIMES EACH LETTER VIDEO CLIP WAS STREAMED AMONG ALL PARTICIPANTS....................................17 TOTAL NUMBER OF LETTER VIDEO CLIPS STREAMED BY WEEK ..........................................................................................18 MEAN NUMBER OF TIMES EACH LITERACY TIP WAS STREAMED AMONG ALL PARTICIPANTS.............................................19 TOTAL NUMBER OF LITERACY TIPS STREAMED BY WEEK....................................................................................................20 MEAN TOTAL AND AVERAGE NUMBER OF LETTER VIDEO CLIPS STREAMED PER PARTICIPANT, BY POVERTY LEVEL........21 DISTRIBUTION BY LOCALE ...................................................................................................................................................25 ADULT PARTICIPANT’S AGE .................................................................................................................................................25 PARTICIPANT ETHNICITY......................................................................................................................................................27 PARTICIPANT EDUCATION LEVEL.........................................................................................................................................27 PARTICIPANT MARITAL STATUS ...........................................................................................................................................28 PARTICIPANT EMPLOYMENT STATUS ...................................................................................................................................28 HOW CHILDREN ARE LEARNING THE ALPHABET, BY POVERTY LEVEL (CHECK ALL THAT APPLY).....................................29 NUMBER OF CHILDREN’S BOOKS IN THE HOME ...................................................................................................................30 NUMBER OF CHILDREN’S MAGAZINES IN THE HOME ...........................................................................................................31 PERCENTAGE OF PARTICIPANTS WHO REPORTED INTERNET ACCESS, BY POVERTY LEVEL................................................31